With the Super Potion Ace had brought back taking effect, Whitebeard—who had long been tormented by hidden illnesses and had suffered severe injuries in the Battle of Marineford—
At this very moment, after twenty long years, returned once more to his peak!!!
Although the Super Potion only restored his stamina and vitality and could not completely eradicate the ailments plaguing his body,
With its support, Whitebeard's physical condition could at least be maintained at a "prime state" for over a year!
Unfortunately, age could not be cheated. Even if the damage caused by illness was compensated for, the body of a seventy-two-year-old man could never compare to his absolute peak at forty.
But times had already changed!
In Roger's era, even a first mate possessed combat power comparable to today's Yonko.
The Rocks Pirates alone had members who were, on average, at least first-mate level!
On the Marine side, there were terrifying newcomers like Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru—men who, despite holding the rank of vice admiral or even lower at the time, possessed strength that crushed everything in their path!
It could be said… that was a true golden age where admirals were everywhere and top-tier fighters walked the seas in droves!
And as one of the kings of that era, even if Whitebeard's strength was diminished, he was still an existence capable of suppressing everything on today's seas!
"Pops!!!"
After hearing Whitebeard describe his current condition, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates immediately erupted with excitement and exhilaration.
Someone even proposed outright:
"Pops! With how strong we are now, why don't we forget about making deals with the Marines~"
"Let's just storm Impel Down, rescue our captured brothers, then turn around and wipe out the Marines altogether!!!"
Because of Whitebeard's earlier feat of splitting Marineford with a single slash, the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were now more inflated with confidence than ever before.
However, upon hearing this suggestion, Marco immediately spoke up to stop them:
"Don't get carried away~!"
"Don't forget—last time, it was only because Ace drew away the vast majority of the Marines' firepower that we were able to strike Marine Headquarters so easily."
"Going back to Marineford now—is that because you think we haven't lost enough brothers yet?!"
"Gurarararara~"
With his strength restored, Whitebeard laughed heartily, yet still agreed with Marco:
"Attacking the Marines again—let's forget it."
"After all, if this world really lost the Marines, that would be a real headache."
"So let's return to the New World first, and make our plans from there!"
A glint flashed through Whitebeard's eyes.
He truly did not believe Sengoku would be willing to watch the backbone of the Marines vanish completely.
…
…
Several days later.
In the Pokémon world, inside a Gym that looked like the set of a variety show.
Amid thunderous cheers from the audience, Red stood atop the Trainer's platform and suddenly waved his hand, pointing at the opposing Gym Leader Blaine's Ninetales as he shouted:
"Zoro, that's their last Pokémon!"
"Can you still go on?!"
After consecutively battling three Pokémon whose strength exceeded Level 50, Zoro let out a light breath.
But when he thought of Sanji—whose strength had skyrocketed after gaining a Devil Fruit—his eyes hardened with resolve, and he shouted back:
"Of course!"
"I'm just finished warming up!!!"
"Looks like Sanji really dealt you a heavy blow, huh~"
Hearing Zoro's stubborn bravado, Red immediately broke into a grin.
His thoughts drifted back to the Straw Hat crew's internal sparring session two days earlier…
Zoro, who had always held the upper hand over Sanji, had been toyed with by Sanji's speed after Sanji gained his Devil Fruit—and ultimately, Zoro had fallen at Sanji's feet.
That defeat had been a massive blow to him.
So when Zoro learned today that Red intended to challenge the Cinnabar Gym, he immediately volunteered to fight.
And with the crew in a feverish state of pursuing strength, Red naturally wasn't about to dampen Zoro's enthusiasm.
And so…
After defeating three Fire-type Pokémon of roughly comparable strength, they finally reached the decisive final battle of the Gym challenge.
"It's been a long time since I've met such an interesting young man,"
"But unfortunately, your Pokémon is nearly out of stamina. This battle—I win!"
After noticing Zoro's physical condition, Gym Leader Blaine's face creased with deep wrinkles as he laughed heartily.
On the battlefield, Ninetales echoed with a cry of its own: "Nii~!"
Unfortunately, such a simple taunt no longer worked on Zoro.
On Red's side, there was a far more powerful form of verbal warfare.
He looked at Ninetales and murmured softly as if to himself—only to "accidentally" raise his volume:
"If Sanji were here, this fight might've already ended by now, right?"
"Hm?!"
Zoro's brow twitched sharply.
Even though he and Sanji both knew Red was deliberately provoking them, at this moment, Zoro's anger still exploded uncontrollably!
"That curly-browed pervert just got lucky and found a Devil Fruit that suited him…"
"What's there to be so smug about?!"
Boom!!!
A terrifying battle intent surged violently from Zoro's body, mixed with the power of the Pressure Ability and Conqueror's Haki, crushing straight toward Ninetales.
"Nii…"
Feeling an inexplicable mental pressure, a strange light flickered in Ninetales' eyes.
However, as a mysterious Pokémon capable of learning Psychic-type moves, its mental strength far surpassed that of ordinary Pokémon.
Thus, even faced with Zoro's opening pressure, it merely frowned slightly.
But in the next second, Blaine's voice suddenly rang out:
"Be careful, Ninetales!"
"The attack is coming—use Agility!"
"Nii!"
Ninetales instantly looked up, only to see a colossal dragon-shaped phantom with steel wings roaring through the air toward its position.
Only then did Ninetales realize—
The pressure had merely been a feint!
In an instant, a strange glow enveloped its body.
A pale golden flash swept past, and Ninetales vanished from its spot, causing Zoro's slash to miss and crash into the wall instead.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The entire Gym seemed to quake violently.
"Hahaha! What a terrifying young man!"
Blaine laughed loudly, though it was unclear whether he was praising Red or Zoro.
Immediately after, he issued another command:
"Ninetales, use Fire Blast!"
"Nii~"
A beautiful, lingering fox cry echoed through the Gym.
As the cry ended, a massive flaming kanji "大" formed in the center of the battlefield, engulfing the arena as it surged toward Zoro's back.
Unable to dodge in time, Zoro was instantly swallowed by the flames.
Endless firelight roared like a storm, covering the entire world.
But in the very next moment—
Boom!
A sword aura like a rainbow cleaved straight through the inferno.
Zoro stood with one arm raised, blade drawn, Sandai Kitetsu pointed directly at Ninetales, its edge glowing faintly crimson.
The Fire-type energy clinging to his body burned relentlessly, scorching his flesh—yet it only made Zoro look more like a demon returned from hell.
"Such an annoying flame…"
Feeling the familiar burning sensation, a ferocious glint flashed in Zoro's eyes.
In the next instant, Facade activated.
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
Arrogance, savagery, destruction, cruelty—
Steel-type energy intertwined with Armament Haki, hardening his three blades to an extreme degree.
Ghostly energy fused with Dragon-type power, forcing Zoro's body to transform!
Shhk—! Shhk—! Shhk—! Shhk—! …
Two mismatched dragon wings burst forth from Zoro's back.
One gleamed with intense metallic luster.
The other was pitch-black like a demon, ghostly energy surging wildly.
Black runes tinged faintly with crimson spread outward from Zoro's heart like dragon scales, covering his entire body—leaving only a resolute, strikingly handsome face exposed.
"Oh? A brand-new form for Zoro!"
Feeling the pressure radiating from the battlefield, surprise flashed through Red's eyes.
"This feels like a variant of Asura from the original story!?"
"As expected of you, Zoro!!!"
After carefully sensing it with Psychic Power, Red couldn't help but exclaim in excitement.
If not for the battle still raging, he might have shouted in awe right then and there.
With no Devil Fruit whatsoever, Zoro had relied purely on his comprehension and talent—fusing swordsmanship insight, ghostly energy, Pokémon energy, and Haki into one—
Forcing into existence a power that had never existed in this world!!!
No Nika Fruit.
No scientific bloodline.
Zoro was even more worthy of the title "Strongest Human" than Luffy or Sanji!!!
This—was what a peak human should look like!
"With this, our chances of clearing 'Let's go' just went up again!"
"Good thing I never doubted you, Zoro!"
Red celebrated inwardly.
Based on his previous analysis of Gym Leader Pokémon levels—
If the system didn't pull any tricks, the Elite Four's Pokémon should cap out around Level 55–60, not breaking past 60.
Even beyond the Elite Four, the strongest enemies they'd face would likely only be slightly above Level 60.
That being the case, with Luffy's current strength, serving as the finisher to consecutively challenge the strongest Dragon-type Elite Four member and the ultimate rival would pose no real issue.
Sanji, now empowered by his Devil Fruit, only needed one or two more levels to reliably contend with an Elite Four member.
And now, with Zoro added as another dependable powerhouse—
After training him a bit more and gaining one or two levels, Red could confidently secure another Elite Four victory.
"As for the final Elite Four member…"
Red's gaze sharpened as he recalled his companions—his thoughts finally settling on one person.
"I wonder if Usopp, with a Devil Fruit, can handle it," Red pondered.
Although Laboon—who had the highest level among them—was an option…
The battlefield was on land, and Laboon's enormous size made free movement impossible.
He'd be nothing more than a living target.
Moreover, Laboon's potential was ultimately too low.
High level alone didn't guarantee he could surpass the Elite Four Pokémon created by the system.
Thus, he was eliminated from consideration.
As for Robin, who had the second-highest level, she was still far from being able to shoulder such a burden.
That left only Usopp—the man capable of hiding an entire insect army within his body.
Red had already tested it: as long as the insects weren't converted into Pokémon, Usopp could freely bring them in and out of the Pokémon world.
They had once discussed converting insects into Pokémon to accelerate reproduction and see if they could inherit moves—
But that was still just a theory, required massive energy consumption, and needed far more preparation.
And besides…
Those were the Elite Four.
Usopp's insect army was still too weak; relying on sheer numbers to overwhelm them wasn't guaranteed to succeed.
At the very least, before reaching the Elite Four, they needed to cultivate stronger insects—or more powerful ammunition.
"Then the next focus will be these two,"
Red decided firmly.
At the same time—
On the battlefield, Zoro—now in his Steel Ghost Dragon form—had already clashed head-on with Blaine's Ninetales.
Flames flickered, illuminating the entire arena.
The slender Ninetales danced across the battlefield, its nine radiant tails whipping as it darted about with blinding speed, leaving behind a flame-wreathed afterimage.
Compared to it, Zoro looked like a monstrous beast—roaring, feral, and baring his savage claws at the beautiful Pokémon.
The clash was imminent!
Entering Facade, Zoro chose to go all in!
Despite having almost no stamina left, he mercilessly squeezed his body dry, converting all Pokémon energy into physical power through Facade, making his attacks fiercer and more violent!
Boom!!!
With massive dragon wings beating, Zoro stomped repeatedly—using Shave to unleash speed that rivaled even Ninetales boosted by Agility!
"Since the timing's perfect, I'll test this move I prepared for that curly-browed bastard on you!"
"Dragon Form · Three Sword Style · Ultimate · Purgatory Oni Giri!!!"
Whoosh!!!
A piercing sound tore through the air.
Zoro and Ninetales crossed paths in an instant!
Both landed on the ground, holding their respective stances.
Several seconds later, a delayed wind pressure finally swept across the battlefield—suppressing the raging flames.
That pressure solidified instantly, like a slash that split the world itself, carving through the entire arena.
Zoro staggered forward two steps, his face contorted with strain.
Clang!
Sandai Kitetsu and Narukami were driven into the ground, propping up Zoro's failing body like crutches.
And then—
"Nii…"
Behind him, Ninetales let out a painful cry, its eyes trembling as it looked toward its Trainer—
Before it could even fully raise its head…
Its heavily injured body went limp, collapsing onto the ground.
At that very moment—
Zoro had successfully defeated Blaine of the Cinnabar Gym, winning yet another crucial Badge for Red!!!
(End of Chapter)